Grief shrouds remote Pakistan mountain village after Greece migrant boat tragedy:
An air of
melancholy hangs over the small village of Bandali in Pakistani-administered
Kashmir, where hopes are rapidly fading for nearly two dozen residents who have
gone abroad in search of a better life and who have since disappeared.
Families
hold back tears as they yearn to know what may have happened to their loved
ones - all of the migrants aboard the Adriana, an overcrowded fishing trawler
that capsized off the coast of Greece last week, killing in least 81 people and
hundreds more were missing.
In Pakistan,
authorities said more than 300 of its nationals were killed in the tragedy, but
did not say how they got the information. Pakistan's Federal Intelligence
Agency said in a statement on Tuesday that 88 people had been officially
reported missing by family members.
Bandali,
with a population of 12,000, is just one of many Pakistani communities affected
by the disaster - in this village alone, around 22 people are still missing,
according to locals.
Their loved
ones now face an excruciating wait as Greek authorities seek accountability for
the dead by scrolling through WhatsApp chats on their phones, which have since
gone silent, all victims of a refugee crisis sweeping the Union European Union
as tens of thousands seek refuge from war. , persecution and poverty.
Saeed Anwar
said four members of his family are now missing, including his brother Abdul
Jabbar. A selfie the group sent to Anwar's phone before they went missing
showed the four men smiling, their goal of reaching Europe very close.
Jabbar, 36,
paid a human smuggler more than $7,500 in hopes of reaching Italy and traveled
thousands of miles on dangerous roads from his homeland to give his young daughters
a brighter future, Anwar told CNN. Jabbar left his two daughters in the village
as he continued his journey.
Pakistan, a
country of about 220 million people, is in the throes of its worst economic
crisis in decades. There is little work; inflation is accelerating; and basic
necessities, including food and fuel, are becoming increasingly expensive.
The exact
route taken by Jabbar and his three relatives is not clear. But they arrived in
Libya a few days before boarding an ill-fated ship bound for their final
destination: Italy.
Phone
conversations between Anwar and Jabbar in the days leading up to the tragedy
shed light on the harsh conditions they face on the journey, which is
controlled by a lucrative and all too often ruthless network of international
smugglers.
In a video
sent to Anwar by his brother Libya, about 100 men could be seen sleeping in a
small room, their bodies buried head to toe in the floor.
"Traffickers
starved the refugees for 72 hours, or sometimes gave them bread after 24
hours," Anwar said, adding that they were held in "overcrowded
conditions".
According to
the UN Migration Office (IOM), there were about 750 men, women and children on
board when it capsized last week.
CNN spoke to
survivors in Greece who said it was full of people on three decks. The worst
was the lowest deck, where it was almost impossible for passengers to move or
go to a higher level.
A dangerous journey:
The
Mediterranean Sea, and in particular many of Greece's southern islands, is an
important route for migrants and refugees escaping political conflict and
poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The Greek
authorities have faced criticism for their handling of the disaster, and
uncomfortable questions have been raised about European countries' attitudes
towards migrants.
Last week,
Greek authorities denied claims the boat capsized after coastguards tried to
tow it ashore.
Authorities
initially claimed the Coast Guard would keep their distance, but their help
"was refused" after they threw a rope over the ship to
"stabilize it and see if it needed help".
But Tarek
Aldroobi, a man who had three relatives on board, told CNN they saw the Greek
authorities towing the ship with ropes - but said they were tied in the
"wrong places", which led to the led to the ship capsizing.
Back in
Bandala, shopkeeper Raja Aqeel prayed for the families waiting for news of
their loved ones.
His own
brother made the perilous voyage from Pakistan to Libya but "luckily"
survived because he did not board the ill-fated boat, which sank.
Now Aqeel is
desperately trying to get his brother home, three months after he embarked on
his first trip to Europe.
According to
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, while Greek authorities counted 81
dead, hundreds are still missing, making it one of the worst disasters of its
kind in the Mediterranean.
Johansson
denounced the role of "smugglers" in getting people onto the boats.
"They
don't send them to Europe, they send them to their deaths," she said.
"That's what they are doing and it absolutely must be prevented."
Pakistani
authorities say they have started cracking down on human trafficking networks
in the country, arresting more than 20 "smugglers" and "more
than five traffickers".
According to
the country's investigative authorities, special teams have been formed in the
capital Islamabad and in the cities of Lahore, Gujrat, Gujranwala and
Rawalpindi to arrest other suspects.
Pakistan's
Human Rights Commission said in a statement on Monday that the deaths from the
sinking were "avoidable".
He called on
the authorities "to assume their part in this disaster", while
acknowledging that "the lack of economic opportunities in the country is forcing
more and more people to try their luck on such roads without realizing the risk
". aware."
The tragedy
"should serve as a clear reminder to the state that it has failed to stem
a serious and long-standing violation of human rights," he said.